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(Exclusive) Brendan Loughnane on Representing Manchester, "Last" PFL Tournament

Loughnane will try to claim the PFL's featherweight crown for a second time in Saudi Arabia.

Drew Beaupre

(Cooper Neill/PFL)

Set to headline a 2024 PFL World Championship card that features a staggering ten title fights, Brendan Loughnane spoke with MMA KO’s Drew Beaupré before the longtime PFL veteran tries to win the promotion’s featherweight tournament for the second time.

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Loughnane will square off with the undefeated Timur Khizriev at The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on November 29, and after besting three other Bellator veterans already this year the 35-year-old fully intends to spoil Khizriev’s hopes of winning his very first PFL tournament.

“[I’m feeling] fantastic, ready to go, ready to put on a show for you all,” Loughnane said when asked about the fight. “I didn’t even know about the Bellator thing either until the previous interview I did, like ‘Oh, you’re 3-0 against Bellator’, and I’m like ‘Oh, yeah’. So we merged the promotions, and now we’re showing everyone who’s boss – PFL. So I’ll be looking to go 4-0, and then he actually nicknamed me the ‘Bellator Killer’.”

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A member of the PFL roster since 2019, Loughnane has no intention of letting a familiar style matchup with Khizriev get in the way of him winning the PFL featherweight tournament for the second time.

“A little bit, yeah,” Loughnane answered when asked if there was any rivalry between PFL and Bellator fighters this season. “Like if the shoe fits, the shoe fits, right? I mean, we’ll take 4-0 vs. Bellator, but the main thing is obviously get the victory on the night, and we’re well on course for it…Same old [style matchup], another wrestler. He’s gonna try and take me down, hold me down, I’m gonna try and knock him out. There’s no secrets in this fight whatsoever, everyone knows what everyone’s gonna do, and we’ll all see it play out.”

Headlining In Riyadh & Representing Manchester

No stranger to headlining PFL cards, Loughnane is excited to compete in Riyadh for the first time and feature as the main event for one of the biggest shows that the promotion has put together thus far.

“Fantastic, just shows how much they value me,” Loughnane said of the main event booking. “This’ll be my eighth [PFL main event]. It’s obviously my second million dollar fight. Welcome to the five rounds, you know what I mean? The five rounds is a different ball game and I’m looking forward to introducing [Khizriev] to it…I wanna do some networking myself [in Riyadh], I wanna meet everybody and see what all the hype’s about.”

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The 2024 PFL World Championship also features the women’s flyweight finals between Dakota Ditcheva and Taila Santos in the co-main event, and Loughnane is thrilled that he and fellow Manchester, England-native Ditcheva will both feature at the top of such a massive card.

“It’s huge. I mean, the biggest PFL card or second biggest, me and Dakota right there at the top. And two very exciting strikers, similar styles, and we just go out there and get after it. It’s big for our city and for our country.”

"It's Definitely Gonna Be My Last Tournament"

It’s no secret that the PFL tournament can be taxing on even the most experienced fighters, and after running that gauntlet several times already Loughnane seems certain that this year will be the last time he competes in that format.

“It’s definitely gonna be my last tournament. I say it every year, but I mean – this is a young man’s sport, I’m 35 next month. People are like ‘What are you doing, bro?’ You’re just tournaments every year, four, five, seven months, like it’s crazy the activity that I’ve been doing. So for sure, next year I’ll be looking at the Super Fight division.”

The 35-year-old certainly has no shortage of options outside of the tournament structure considering the PFL’s acquisition of Bellator and the introduction of new “Super Fights” belts at last month’s Battle of the Giants PPV, and while Loughnane isn’t entirely certain about his plans for next year he is impressed with all the moves the PFL has been making as of late.

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“Yeah, it’s amazing,” Loughnane said of the PFL’s expansion this year. “They’ve done such a good job. I’ve been here from the start, and watching the promotion go from where it started to now is insane, and it’s credit to [PFL CEO] Peter Murray and the team.”

“I’m just trying to get this job done, I’m trying to get this money, I’m trying to get this belt and enjoy Christmas…I’m not sure [about plans for next year], I’m not sure what that landscape looks like right now. I’ve got a big test in Timur [on November 29], and then we’ll go from there.”

The 2024 PFL World Championship will take place on November 29 at The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the headlining fight between Loughnane and Khizriev will close out a stacked card that boasts ten title bouts between the PFL and PFL MENA tournaments.

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Drew Beaupre
DREW BEAUPRE

Drew is an MMA writer that regularly watches regional events in addition to major promotions such as the UFC, PFL, Bellator, and ONE Championship. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023.

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